It’s an indescribable feeling, plunging into cool, clear water after walking for hours through the Yucatán jungle. I’m surrounded by the tall overhanging cliff walls of a cenote —a type of freshwater sinkhole believed by the ancient Maya to be portals to the underworld, and often used as sacrificial sites. The water is a mix of emerald green and turquoise, with large lily pads floating on the surface and thick alamo tree roots plunging to its depths from the cliffs like giant eels.
It’s day one of my five-day hike along Mexico’s Camino del Mayab —a long-distance hiking and biking trail opened in late 2020 —and the 32C heat and 80% humidity is getting to me. But with 11 miles to walk before sunset, there’s only so much time for pool dips. Following a dirt path flanked by thick jungle, we
